pelvic fin
noun
: one of the paired fins of a fish that are homologous with the hind limbs of a quadruped
Examples of pelvic fin in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Some scans revealed that Tiktaalik had unexpectedly massive hips (more like Thicctaalik) and a surprisingly big pelvic fin.
—
New York Times, 29 Apr. 2022
The three-foot-long creatures live near Australia, moving their pectoral fins in the front and pelvic fins in the back to plod along, writes Nat Geo’s Douglas Main.
—National Geographic, 30 Jan. 2020
These three-foot-long creatures live near Australia, and, as their name implies, move their pectoral fins in the front and pelvic fins in the back to plod along the seafloor—or even atop coral reefs, outside the water, at low tide.
—National Geographic, 23 Jan. 2020
One possible explanation was that the marine sticklebacks had already carried a rare mutation for the loss of the pelvic fin, one that arose in their ancestors.
—Quanta Magazine, 5 Feb. 2019
Adding and subtracting repeats would then have been an easy way to fine-tune the expression of the genes involved in pelvic fin development.
—Quanta Magazine, 5 Feb. 2019
Their pelvic fins have been modified into a sucking disk.
—Rachel Becker, The Verge, 21 Sep. 2018
Some have looked at coelacanths and sarcopterygians, or lungfish (the latter use their pelvic fins to move in a motion like walking).
—Lorraine Boissoneault, Smithsonian, 9 Feb. 2018
Typically, these pectoral and pelvic fins — which correspond to forelimbs and hindlimbs in land vertebrates — are small and largely used for balance and steering.
—Steph Yin, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2018
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New York Times, 29 Apr. 2022
The three-foot-long creatures live near Australia, moving their pectoral fins in the front and pelvic fins in the back to plod along, writes Nat Geo’s Douglas Main.
—National Geographic, 30 Jan. 2020
These three-foot-long creatures live near Australia, and, as their name implies, move their pectoral fins in the front and pelvic fins in the back to plod along the seafloor—or even atop coral reefs, outside the water, at low tide.
—National Geographic, 23 Jan. 2020
One possible explanation was that the marine sticklebacks had already carried a rare mutation for the loss of the pelvic fin, one that arose in their ancestors.
—Quanta Magazine, 5 Feb. 2019
Adding and subtracting repeats would then have been an easy way to fine-tune the expression of the genes involved in pelvic fin development.
—Quanta Magazine, 5 Feb. 2019
Their pelvic fins have been modified into a sucking disk.
—Rachel Becker, The Verge, 21 Sep. 2018
Some have looked at coelacanths and sarcopterygians, or lungfish (the latter use their pelvic fins to move in a motion like walking).
—Lorraine Boissoneault, Smithsonian, 9 Feb. 2018
Typically, these pectoral and pelvic fins — which correspond to forelimbs and hindlimbs in land vertebrates — are small and largely used for balance and steering.
—Steph Yin, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2018
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pelvic fin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1882, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near pelvic fin
Cite this Entry
“Pelvic fin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pelvic%20fin. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023.
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Kids Definition
pelvic fin
noun
: either of a pair of fins of a fish that correspond to the hind limbs of a four-footed animal compare pectoral fin
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